First Wizarding War
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THIS PAGE IS DIRECTLY SOURCED FROM THE OFFICIAL WIKI! It is not everything off the wiki but it is what would be considered “common knowledge” to the Wizarding World. The '''First Wizarding War '''refers to the war in which Voldemort’s first rise to power happened. It spanned from approximately 1970 to October 31st,1981. It marked the original "reign" of the evil Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort. This reign took place at the height of his power and caused widespread panic and fear among the magical community as well as muggles. The Dark Lord's rebellion occurred with the help of his Death Eaters, a very powerful and malicious organisation of dark wizards and dark witches who served him and brought terror to both the Muggle and Wizarding Worlds'. They were opposed in turn by the British Ministry Of Magic and the Order Of The Phoenix, an equally powerful, top-secret organisation founded and led by Albus Dumbledore; which would play a crucial role in both of Voldemort's defeats. Voldemort's first defeat took place on Halloween, 31 October, 1981 at the hands of an infant Harry Potter. This led to Harry being known as the "Boy Who Lived". Shortly thereafter, all of his remaining Death Eaters were imprisoned, killed, or acquitted, bringing the war to an end. The War begins Dark Rebellion It was in this charged climate that in 1970, Voldemort proclaimed himself the Dark Lord, and started to act openly around Europe. With his army of followers, Voldemort launched a revolution against the British Ministry Of Magic with the intention of toppling it and creating a new world order run by pure-bloods with Muggles kept in utter bondage servitude and Lord Voldemort himself as the ruler. To achieve these ends, the Death Eaters and their allies (including the particularly destructive Giants) began openly carrying out attacks on Muggles for sport and to show chaos. Cleaning up these attacks, healing survivors, modifying memories, searching for the perpetrators, and attempting to prevent future attacks occupied more and more of the Ministry's time and attention. As their confidence grew, the Death Eaters began targeting Muggle-born and blood traitor witches and wizards as well, torturing and sometimes killing their victims, which shocked wizarding society. Other "inferior" magical beings such as house-elves (who were treated like vermin) and Goblins (a family of which was slaughtered) also suffered under their reign of terror. To inspire yet more terror, the Death Eaters would cast the Dark Mark in the sky over every house or scene that they killed at. Many Death Eaters also managed to secretly gain strategic positions within the Ministry Of Magic itself. They then used blackmail and the Imperius Curse to expand their influence and destabilise the government from within, which was desperately trying to keep order and continue to maintain secrecy from the Muggle world. Augustus Rookwood, an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries, managed to set up a particularly successful-secret network of espionage within the Ministry. Minister Jenkins was ill-prepared to lead during wartime, and it seemed that the Ministry was incapable of gaining the upper hand. In response to the growing threat of Lord Voldemort and his minions, Albus Dumbledore formed the Order Of The Phoenix in 1971; to take the fight directly to the Death Eaters. Though the Ministry officially viewed the Order as a renegade outfit, a number of powerful Ministry officials (such as Elphias Doge and Dedalus Diggle; and the famous Aurors Alastor Moody and Frank Longbottom and Alice Longbottom) joined instantly to participate in more secretive, sudden assaults to crush the dark rebellion. When Dumbledore helped black market trader Mundungus Fletcher out of trouble, he joined the Order and, due to his extensive knowledge of the criminal underworld, proved very useful. To allow members of the Order to covertly communicate with each other, Dumbledore invented a method of sending messages via the Patronus Charm. Height of the War Even so, the nascent Order initially had very little success, and terror and chaos gripped the populace of wizarding Britain to the point that many began to fear to speak Voldemort's name. He became widely referred to as "He Who Must Not Be Named," or, less formally, "You Know Who". Numerous ordinary witches and wizards (such as Maxwell Thomas and Robert McGonagall Jr.) lost their lives, and the Death Eaters frequently cast the Dark Mark over the scenes of their murders. To protect the organisation, Voldemort ensured that Death Eaters did not know the identities of too many of their fellows, and, to society at large, their identities were completely unknown. Increasing the confusion and paranoia even further, they often placed innocent victims under the Imperius Curse and forced them to carry out their dirty work. Even friends and family members were not above suspicion of one another. In 1975, Eugenia Jenkins was ousted as Minister Of Magic and replaced by Harold Minchum, a hardliner who placed more Dementors around Azkaban. In addition, ruthless Council Of Magical Law Head Judge Bartemius "Barty" Crouch Senior rose rapidly through the Ministry's ranks until he also became the Head of the Department Of Magical Law Enforcement. Minchin and Crouch then began to make serious headway, though the anonymous and elusive Death Eaters still retained the advantage. In 1978, Severus Snape graduated from Hogwarts and entered the ranks of the Death Eaters, joining his schoolmates Evan Rosier, Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, Selwyn, Jerome Jugson, Jugson, Regulus Black, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, Thorfinn Rowle, Gibbon, Augustus Rookwood, Igor Karkaroff, Crabbe, Goyle, Travers, and Antonin Dolohov. Likely at Snape's urging, Voldemort attempted to recruit Lily Evans, whose prodigious talents made up for her status as a Muggle-born, along with her blood traitor boyfriend James Potter; and James' childhood friends: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Naturally, they all refused, defying Voldemort for the very first time, and James and Lily were soon married and joined the Order Of The Phoenix along with their other friends. Around this time, James and Sirius, who had been disowned by the House of Black, were pursued by a trio of Death Eaters, though they easily managed to evade them and escape. Voldemort then gravitated towards several of his younger recruits who were specially magically powerful and fanatically loyal. He took only Severus Snape and Bellatrix Lestrange under his personal wing, sharing with them his personal-secret knowledge of the Dark Arts; and inspiring in Bellatrix a delusional-psychotic attraction bordering on loving obsession, which Voldemort never honestly returned. He also entrusted his diary Horcrux to Lucius Malfoy, with whom he schemed of using to secretly re-open the Chamber of Secrets, for he did not dare attack Hogwarts directly as long as Dumbledore was Headmaster. This did not come to fruition till many years later. Severus Snape, a fellow half-blood with whom he had much in common, quickly became his most trusted and valuable servant; even more so than Bellatrix Lestrange, though Voldemort never told her that. Snape was also the only Death Eater, who Voldemort allowed to freely act, unless it was a mission of great importance. Barty Crouch’ edict In 1980, Minister Minchin was also removed from office due to his failure to end the war and was immediately replaced with Millicent Bagnold. Order member Peter Pettigrew was also secretly initiated as a Death Eater, because of the latter's great fear of Voldemort and the foolish conclusion that nothing could be truly gained by resisting him; and began feeding information on the Order's movements to Voldemort. Members began regarding each other uneasily, and Sirius Black suspected that his friend Remus Lupin, who was frequently undercover among Voldemort's werewolf allies, was a spy.] When the entire order gathered for a group photograph in July of 1981, no one suspected the truth. Shortly afterwards, due to Pettigrew's betrayal, Death Eaters began systematically murdering Order members and the war entered its most desperate phase. Marlene McKinnon was slaughtered alongside her entire family by Travers, Nott, and Mulciber. Edgar Bones, his wife, and their children were murdered by Thorfinn Rowle and Fenrir Greyback. Gideon Prewett and Fabian Prewett both fought bravely but were ultimately killed by Antonin Dolohov, and Dorcas Meadowes was murdered by Voldemort himself. Caradoc Dearborn disappeared and was never found, though he was presumed dead. Benjy Fenwick was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange, Evan Rosier, and Julius Jerome; and so brutally mutilated that only bits of him were recovered. In response to this brutal onslaught, Barty Crouch Snr, who secretly despised Voldemort, the Death Eaters, and the Dark Arts entirely; issued an edict giving Ministry Aurors full permission to employ the use of the Unforgivable Curses against their enemies. A massive Ministry campaign, spearheaded and led by Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Frank Longbottom; ensued, immediately turning the tide of the war against the Death Eaters. They initially focused their efforts on resisting the giants, killing many of them with the Killing Curse, and wiping out entire tribes until they forced the survivors to go into hiding. Finally, the Ministry began to identify and apprehend Death Eaters. Auror and Order member Alastor Moody became legendary for his successes, arresting and capturing Igor Karkaroff along with many other supporters of the Dark Lord, and also killing Evan Rosier when he resisted arrest, although losing a chunk of his nose in the process. Antonin Dolohov also met his capture and imprisonment at the hands of Magical Law Enforcement Squad and Corban Yaxley, one of Voldemort's earliest followers, was captured and sent to Azkaban as well. Downfall of the Dark Lord During the worst days of the war, in late 1980; James and Lily Potter lived in Godric's Hollow, England with their son, Harry. The family had been asked to go into hiding by Professor Dumbledore himself, as they knew they were definitely on Voldemort's radar as hated enemies. James then lent his family heirloom invisibility cloak to Dumbledore, who was curious about its properties. Around this time, Dumbledore met with Sybill Trelawney at the Hog's Head Inn in Hogsmeade regarding the vacant position of Divination teacher. During the interview, Trelawney entered into a magical trance and made a real prophecy: in which she foretold the futuristic coming of a young wizard who would not only become Voldemort's equal; but would finish The Dark Lord for good, due to this individual having strength, power, courage, will, purity of heart, and most of all: a deep love that would not only surpass those of Lord Voldemort, but of Albus Dumbledore himself. There were two possible candidates, both born in July of 1980 to members of the Order Of The Phoenix who had thrice defied the Dark Lord: Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. Severus Snape was also secretly at the inn, and managed to overhear only part of the prophecy before being discovered and thrown out by the inn's keeper, who was secretly Order member Aberforth Dumbledore, Dumbledore's younger brother. Snape then immediately reported what he had heard to Voldemort, who became so fearful and was greatly concerned over the information. Voldemort then immediately assumed that it meant the Potters' son (a half-blood like himself) and resolved to personally kill the infant at any cost whatsoever. Dumbledore then hired Trelawney so that she would be safe from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Snape covertly defected to the Order Of The Phoenix after he secretly told Dumbledore that Voldemort had marked her and The Potters for death, begging the legendary wizard to hide and protect the family from Voldemort at all cost. Dumbledore agreed, and urgently bade the Potters to go into hiding under the protection of the Fidelius Charm. While James and Lily wanted Sirius Black to be their Secret-Keeper, because he was their closest and most trusted friend, and the fact the Sirius had been made Harry's godfather; it was for exactly those reasons that Black claimed that he was too obvious a choice and that Voldemort would suspect him. Instead, he suggested Peter Pettigrew, an ordinary wizard who no one would ever expect. Thus, the real traitor became the Potters' Secret-Keeper, though no one (not even Dumbledore or Lupin) knew of the switch, and within a week Pettigrew told his master Voldemort the Potters' location, officially breaking the Fidelius Charm and leaving the Potters completely vulnerable. Meanwhile, Dumbledore discovered that James's invisibility cloak was in fact the Cloak of Invisibility, the third of the legendary Deathly Hallows. On 31 October, 1981, Voldemort travelled to the Potters residence in Godric's Hollow. He then casually and secretly entered their house, and instantly and swiftly murdered James with the Killing Curse, who was unarmed, but he offered Lily a chance to save herself if she stepped away from the crib containing her infant son. Lily refused and when Voldemort became agitated and angry, he gave her one last warning to move aside. Lily still refused, thus, Voldemort murdered her as well with the Killing Curse. He then turned his wand on Harry. However, Lily's loving sacrifice gave Harry an ancient and unbelievably powerful magical protection; and when Voldemort attempted to kill Harry with the Killing Curse, the curse rebounded and was deflected upon Voldemort himself. The Killing Curse caused Voldemort's physical body to be destroyed and his power was completely broken and zapped from him. In addition, the curse left Harry with only a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. The Boy Who Lived Although Voldemort's body and magic were destroyed, he did not die; albeit as a powerless spectral-like incredibly weak ghost. In utter fear and humiliation, he immediately fled the collapsing house and the country entirely, unwilling to be seen by anyone in such a weakened and desperate state, not even his own Death Eaters. Only two abilities remained to Voldemort; he could fly and possess the bodies of other living beings. Order member and Hogwarts groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid arrived on the scene about an hour after Voldemort fled; secretly acting on Dumbledore's orders to rescue Harry from the cottage ruins with unexpected help from Sirius Black, who instantly became aware of Pettigrew's treachery after finding his house empty with little sign of a struggle. Black then tried to convince Hagrid to give him Harry (since had been named the boy's legal guardian in the event of James and Lily's deaths), but Hagrid told him that Dumbledore had ordered Hagrid to bring Harry directly to him at an undisclosed location, so Black lent the half-giant wizard his flying motorbike to carry the baby on for the journey to meet with Dumbledore. That same night, news of Voldemort's downfall and apparent death spread like wildfire throughout all of Great Britain; with monumental celebrations breaking out all across the country so strenuously that numerous large-scale breaches of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy were noticed by the Muggle international media. This was excused by Minister Bagnold, who asserted the war-weary wizarding community's "inalienable right to party." Though some people, like Barty Crouch Snr, claimed the celebrating got out of hand and became childish and ridiculous. Touted as the "Boy Who Lived", Harry Potter's status as the first and only person ever to survive the Killing Curse and the reason for Voldemort's downfall led to him becoming a world famous household name and celebrity overnight. However, he was also an orphan, so Hagrid took him to the town of Little Whinging, Surrey; where Dumbledore and Order member Minerva McGonagall were both waiting. They then left Harry at the doorstep of 4 Privet Drive, the residence of his maternal aunt Petunia Dursley and her husband Vernon Dursley, whom were muggles and despised magic. Dumbledore left a note with him explaining the circumstances to the Dursleys, most importantly that they must allow Harry to grow up in their home and return there once a year. Order member Arabella Figg, who was a Squib and also lived a few houses down, accepted the task of secretly keeping watch over Harry and the Dursleys. Decline of the Death Eaters In the aftermath of Voldemort's shockingly abrupt defeat and subsequent disappearance without a trace, many were sceptical that he was really dead. Aurors, Order members, and Ministry officials searched at home and abroad for any sign of him but found none. Although they eventually came to the conclusion that Voldemort had truly been defeated and was dead, many Death Eaters were still at large and considered a huge threat. Peter Pettigrew attempted to go into hiding, but was confronted by Sirius Black on a street in London, England full of Muggles. In order to escape, he conjured a powerful Blasting Curse that killed twelve Muggle bystanders and transformed into his Animagus form of a rat, leaving behind a severed index finger as fake evidence against his opponent. This left Black universally perceived as the traitor to the Potters, as well as a mass murderer, for which he was quickly arrested and carted off to Azkaban without a trial, whereas Pettigrew was universally thought to be dead and unjustly awarded the Order of Merlin (First Class) for his supposed willingness to stand up for the safety of a friend. In addition, other Death Eaters like Travers, Mulciber, and three others who helped murder the Bones Family , were likewise captured and imprisoned, while Dumbledore gave personal testimony exonerating Severus Snape, who he also hired as the Potions Master at Hogwarts to replace the retiring Horace Slughorn. Fenrir Greyback and other werewolves went back underground, and the few remaining Giants left the British Isles entirely and resettled in the last remaining Giant colony in the world in rural Denmark. However, Igor Karkaroff gave up Augustus Rookwood, who was thrown into Azkaban, in exchange for his freedom, which he used as an opportunity to flee the country and eventually gain employment as the new Headmaster of Durmstrang Institute Of Magic in Eastern Europe. The subsequent investigation of Rookwood's spy network led to numerous individuals being questioned (including Ludovic "Ludo" Bagman, Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps, who was found not guilty). Despite the Ministry crackdown, spearheaded by Barty Crouch Snr, Albus Dumbledore, and Alastor Moody; some Death Eaters were able to walk free as the Malfoy Family, who claimed to have been under the Imperius Curse and were cleared. Many innocent people were released from the Imperius Curse indeed, following Voldemort's defeat, so some of them used this as an excuse. Others simply used their wealth, power, and influence to avoid punishment for their crimes. Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Nott, Avery, Crabbe, Goyle, and Gibbon were officially considered innocent in the years after the war, while Amycus Carrow, Alecto Carrow, Thorfinn Rowle, Selwyn, Jugson, were all convicted and sent to Azkaban too. Assuming that Voldemort was dead and gone, those who were cleared simply carried on with their daily lives as if nothing had ever happened. However, not all Death Eaters were content to give up Voldemort's cause. Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, and Rabastan Lestrange, along with Crouch Snr's own son, Bartemius "Barty" Crouch Jr, abducted and interrogated Frank and Alice Longbottom. Believing that they had information on Voldemort's whereabouts, they tortured them at once with the Cruciatus Curse so severely that they were left mentally insane with no possibility of returning to their former state. Their infant son Neville Longbottom, was left to be raised by his grandmother Augusta Longbottom. The horrific attack enraged the magical public so much and was considered one of the most dreadful crimes ever recorded. Barty Crouch Snr, disgusted and shame-ridden that his own son was a Death Eater, sentenced them all to life in Azkaban. Bellatrix then proudly proclaimed her loyalty and declared that the Dark Lord would return as they were dragged away by a horde of Dementors.